be creative, have fun

Category: Parties

What do you do for your husband when he isn’t a big birthday celebrator? This is tough because I. LOVE. BIRTHDAYS!!!! I use it as a day to spoil the people that I care about. It’s just totally fun to me. Plus it is yet one more excuse to get creative. So… my husband doesn’t want much fuss for his birthday. I was wracking my brain and luck came upon me! Here are some ideas if you’re in the birthday planning rut:

CENTER THE PARTY AROUND A SPORT OR SHOW- My husband’s brother has a birthday super close, so he just wanted to watch the Utah Jazz game! What an easy request. If your guy likes a certain show, you can Tivo the Season Finale or Premier for guests to watch together. You can do the same with renting a fun movie.

KEEP DECOR SIMPLE WITH BALLOONS- Going to the party store to get balloons really got my toddler into the spirit of the party. Plus, the balloons made my whole house festive on very little effort. Also, those confetti balloons are all the rage and look fabulous! NOTE: If you get balloons with high float added, they are meant to last 24-32 hours. If not, balloons will last about 8 hours on average.

3. USE OLD PHOTOS- I have a bunch of cute old photos of Josh and his brother together. It was a no brainer to put those puppies to use. Once I decided on going in that direction, the rest of the party fell into place.

I took these old photos and turned them black and white:

I also added thought bubbles using a free font called Talkies that you can download here.

Once I got going, the sky was the limit. These birthday boys have great senses of humors, so I went for funny on these; Adding signs for the bathroom mirror:

…A 16×20 poster, printed in just an hour at my nearest Walmart…

…and cake and cupcake toppers!

Don’t these guys look happy?

That amazing cake was made by Denise. It tasted so good. Just the right touch to make the birthday guys feel special.

Oh the special requests I get from my children! This birthday Jack wanted a dragon-themed cake/party. Instantly my imagination goes wild with possibilities!

If you have a dragon-loving person in your life I have the perfect cake topper for you!

Simply print the template below on either colored or white cardstock, cut out pieces and attach the arm, leg, and wings with mini brads (I found mine in the papercraft section of Hobby Lobby). I glued the fire behind the mouth of the dragon after I wrote out my birthday message on it. Once everything is attached tape or glue a wooden skewer to the back of your dragon and stick it in your cake!

When it comes to six-year-old boys it’s fairly safe to assume they are packed with energy and LOVE to shoot stuff! My sister-in-law, Rachel, had the brilliant idea to throw her son a Nerf party for his sixth birthday. Originally she planned to have this party outdoors, but the weather in Utah in January was not cooperating! She came up with some creative ideas to make this party just as fun indoors.

To start this party off right, Rachel set out a row of Nerf guns for each attendee to take home as a party favor and use during the party. She got an amazing after Christmas deal on these babies at Target online. You could also suggest attendees bring their own guns if they have them on the invitation.

She also purchased plenty of Nerf darts using Wish. Seriously discounted darts. No, seriously–check it out! Just plan well in advance because shipping takes some time!

Rachel and her husband, Hiro set up super fun target stations all through the house using cardboard boxes, duct tape, printed targets, army men, and balloons. So clever and the kids loved it!

Each balloon target was worth a different amount of points.

Check out the little spinners on these targets!

I just love the army guys!

Cute baby brother is locked and loaded–LOOK OUT!

I also love how everything ended up color-coordinated. Rachel stuck to a simple palette of red, blue, orange, and white. Even the guns and darts matched the party!

For food, Rachel kept it simple and ordered pizza–always a crowd pleaser!

And for the cake, the birthday boy’s request: Vanilla cupcakes with a peach filling and peach buttercream icing, decorated with a fondant target and sprinkles (made by me!).

In case you need a close-up of that luscious peach buttercream:

I want to thank Rachel for sharing this special day with us! Hopefully this post inspires you for future parties and events!